Grant Savvy Book: Careers in Grant Writing

Hello Savvy Readers! Do I have a book for you...Careers in Grant Writing by Caroline S. Reeder!

This book is designed to give novice grant writers the behind-the-scenes scoop about what it really means to have career in the grant writing field. Every grant writer has different challenges, different expectations and certainly different way we communicate with clients or organizations. I have always felt that there is no right way to be a grant writing consultant, but there are a million wrong ways to be one.

Caroline Reeder's book is written with her 15+ years of experience and shares honest, useful information related to:

• What Grant Writers do
• Where Grant Writers work
• What skills and training you need to become  a Grant Writer
• What a typical day on the job as a Grant Writer is like
• How to find a jobs and internships as a Grant Writer

If you are a new or experienced grant writer, this book will give you tips on training, salaries, job searches and more. If you are a writer, former nonprofit employee, venturing nonprofit employee or considering consulting, this book will help you put your best foot forward as you move into an exciting (yes, grant writing is exciting!) career. I had several "a-ha" moments while reading it and appreciated the reminders about seeking clients. I just knew that a book filled with how-to advice for being a grant writer was perfect for Grant Savvy readers! It should definitely be added to your library.
 
About the Author
Caroline S. Reeder started her career as a grant writer more than fifteen years ago. Her first proposal resulted in a grant of $200,000 for a nonprofit affordable housing advocacy organization. That got her hooked. Since then she has written hundreds of proposals resulting in more than a million dollars in funding for a variety of nonprofit organizations and government agencies.
 
Caroline's book, Careers in Grant Writing, can be purchased through Amazon or her website, Careers in Grant Writing.
 
~Cheers!

After the Grant: The Nonprofit's Guide to Good Stewardship

Since I have been preaching the importance of writing a thank you letter to foundation funders, even after rejection, I'm excited to share this new Grant Savvy Book with you!

After the Grant: The Nonprofit's Guide to Good Stewardship was released by the Foundation Center this spring and is filled with instructions, how-to's and case studies for winning grants projects. According to the Foundation Center, "After the Grant is the only book of its kind written on the topic of what should happen after a grant is awarded".

There is a library's worth of books about the grant proposal process, but many often end before the stewardship pieces are discussed and few books include any stewardship guidance for readers. Getting the "yes" is really just the beginning of a relationship with a funder. You've courted, made your move and now the real committment begins. Don't ever overlook the importance of good stewardship with grant funders, government or otherwise. There is always a way to say thank you and to keep funders updated about the work you are able to do with their support--now  more than ever this can impact your chances for funding.

Add After the Grant: The Nonprofit's Guide to Good Stewardship to your bookshelf today and build your strategy to keep funders around for years to come!

~Cheers!

Grant Savvy Books: The Ask

The newest book added to the Savvy Library is "The Ask: How to Ask for Support for Your Nonprofit, Cause, Creative Project or Business Venture" by Laura Fredricks.

Below is a great review from the experts at the Paul Clarke Nonprofit Resource Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana. They are a tremendous resource for information and having worked with them early in their inception I can speak highly for how much knowledge Marilyn shares with those in Allen County and beyond.

"The Ask: How to Ask for Support for Your Nonprofit, Cause, Creative Project or Business Venture

In her updated and expanded version of The Ask: How to Ask for Support for Your Nonprofit Cause, Creative Project, or Business Venture, author and fundraiser Laura Fredricks offers a step-by-step approach to making the ask. Divided in two parts (What do I need to Know Before I ask? and How Do I Make the Ask?), The Ask outlines the process with chapters on: What Does Money Mean to You?; How Do I Know Who to Ask and When to Ask?; Asking for a Cause – Small and Large Charitable Gifts; Handling the Responses to the Ask: Following Up with Each and Every Ask.

Fredricks offers sample dialogues to prompt “asking” conversations along and frames the book with her list of Ten Things to Know about Every Ask."

~Cheers

Grant Savvy Book of the Week: Change Philanthropy

Change Philanthropy: Candid Stories of Foundations

Maximizing Results through Social Justice

By Alicia Epstein Korten

I understand that we are grant writers and not grantmakers, but this book will give you perspective from the other side of the table. It is our job to constantly seek understanding about the direction of the funder and how our project will fit into their overall goals. How does our request fit into their grantmaking strategy? How can we offer a good fit for everyone?

There are many times when we wonder, "What is the funder really thinking?". It is good practice to explore trends in grantmaking strategies and community development to better understanding how your organization is just one piece of a much larger pie.

Alicia Epstein Korten is the chief executive officer of ReNual, a strategic-planning consulting firm who can undoubtedly provide great insight about grant makers and their motivating for supporting some and not others.

Editorial Review of Change Philanthropy:

This groundbreaking book shows how to increase funding for social justice philanthropy. Social justice philanthropy provides direct services to alleviate suffering and works to transform the systems and institutions that cause that suffering. Written in an engaging, easy-to-read style, Change Philanthropy offers an insider's view what works and what doesn't work when developing grantmaking strategies in support of social change. It gives clear guidance showcases foundations of all types and sizes including Liberty Hill Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Needmor Fund, Jacobs Family Foundation, Discount Foundation, Global Fund for Women, Schott Foundation, Ford Foundation, and the Open Society Institute. The book also includes a wealth of illustrative examples and contains practical suggestions and tips that can be applied immediately to support any social justice agenda.

· Offers a guide for increasing funds for social justice programs
· and suggestions for foundations on which programs to fund
· Gives step-by-step advice for developing a successful grantmaking strategy
· Includes a wealth of examples from leading foundations
· Sponsored by The Center for Community Change

~Cheers!

Grant Savvy Books: Grant Proposal Makeover: Transform Your Request from No to Yes

Grant Proposal Makeover: Transform Your Request from No to Yes

By Cheryl A Clarke, Susan P. Fox

This one is being added to the Savvy library immediately! What a wonderful find by one of our Savvy authors Cheryl A. Clarke and Susan P. Fox. Cheryl Clarke is the author of Storytelling for Grantseekers.

Here is an excerpt fromt the AFP website: "Nine out of ten grant proposals are rejected. Grant Proposal Makeover shows how to transform lackluster proposals into excellent ones-that have the potential to be funded. This book stands out from other traditional grantwriting books because it illustrates common flaws and problems in proposals and shows exactly how to fix them. It also includes helpful tips and quotes from foundation program officers and funding community insiders taken from an international survey of foundation professionals."

I'll be sure to share my insights after I read this great find!

~Cheers!

Grant Savvy Books: The Essential Nonprofit Fundraising Handbook

The Essential Nonprofit Fundraising Handbook: Getting the Money You Need from Government Agencies, Businesses, Foundations, and Individuals

By Michael A. Sand and Linda Lysakowski

Our newest Savvy recommendation is also listed in the August 20 issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Written by Michael Sand and Linda Lysakowski, this book covers the basics of fundraising success and tips to diversify your fundraising model.

As grant writers, our fundraising efforts are only one piece of the pie. What other development functions depends on us? What functions do we depend upon? Knowing how to interweave volunteers, specials events, major gifts and grant writing is key to building a strong development plan.

Michael A. Sand, Esq., the author of How to Manage an Effective Nonprofit Organization, has more than 40 years' experience as a staff member, board member and consultant to nonprofit groups that need to raise funds. He heads Sand Associates, a consulting firm that provides comprehensive services to nonprofit organizations across the country. Sand lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE, is the founder and president of Capital Venture, one of the country's most successful consulting and training fundraising firms. She is the author of Recruiting and Training Fundraising Volunteers and The Development Plan and a contributing author to The Fundraising Feasibility Study-It's Not About the Money. She lives in Las Vegas.

(Biographies Courtesy of Barnes & Noble Online)

Grant Savvy Books: Managing the Nonprofit Organization

Managing the Nonprofit Organization: Principles and Practices
By Peter Drucker

While this book isn't completely grant writing related, it has a great deal of information regarding the management of nonprofits and its fundraising activities. Drucker focuses on real-world examples about leadership, mission, volunteers and donor relationships. This approach to uncovering the order of nonprofit management is incredibly useful for anyone working for or with a nonprofit organization at a leadership level.

As a grant writer or fundraising consultant, it is imperative that you have a strong understanding of the nonprofit world, not just fundraising. Your ability to relate to a nonprofit client in terms of the "big picture" makes your contribution more meaningful than just taking on the task of writing a proposal.

This book is a fast read and the chapters are broken up by narrative, interviews and analysis. A big recommendation from Grant Savvy for this one! Enjoy!

~Cheers!

Grant Savvy Books: Consulting and Evaluation with Nonprofit and Community-Based Organizations

We're back, Savvy Readers! Enjoy today's posting for the "book of the week".

Consulting and Evaluation with Nonprofit and

Community-Based Organizations

By Judah J. Viola, PhD, and Susan Dvorak McMahon, PhD

I have not personally read this cover to cover, as it just hit the market. However, their publishing website gives a great overview and provides some feedback from readers.

According to the book review, "The need for consultation and evaluation among non-profits and government agencies has soared in recent years, as funders have demanded accountability and agencies are ill-equipped to provide the types of data-based information needed."

Consulting and Evaluation with Nonprofit and Community-Based Organizations fills a critical gap in the academic literature for non-profit management. This unique text is a collection of advice and voices from a diverse group of successful, practicing consultants who work with non-profits and government agencies. Through surveys and interviews, these experts relate detailed information on how they got started in consulting, what types of services they provide, what types of clients they serve, the biggest challenges they face, and much more. The book also integrates current topics from a wide variety of sources, so that interested readers can easily access important information all in one book.

“As a beginning consultant I sought out a guide such as this but no other source provided such a range of information and experience. The detailed advice, tools, and examples provided in this book will aid new and experienced consultants alike to begin or grow a successful consulting career. It certainly did for me.”

—Michelle R. Bloodworth, PhD, Community Psychologist and Educational Consultant with Apex Education

Stay tuned this week for a full line-up of Grant Savvy features!

~Cheers!

Grant Savvy Books: Fundraising Consultants: A Guide for Nonprofit Organizations

Fundraising Consultants: A Guide for Nonprofit Organizations

By E.A. Scanlan

As part of the AFP/Wiley Fund Development Series, Fundraising Consultants: A Guide for Nonprofit Organizations is a book that benefits both organizations and consultants.

The AFP Fund Development Series is intended to provide fund development professionals and volunteers, including board members (and others interested in the nonprofit sector), with top-quality publications that help advance philanthropy as voluntary action for the public good. The Association of Fundraising Professionals(AFP) and Wiley each bring to this innovative collaboration unique and important resources that result in a whole greater than the sum of its parts.

(From the Inside Flap)

Fundraising Consultants

Lowering net costs, realizing more money, and securing larger donations are just a few of the advantages to hiring a professional fundraising consultant. But how can you know you're picking the right consultant for your organization?

Filled with invaluable information to help you identify, select, retain, and work with development/fundraising consultants, Fundraising Consultants includes practical advice, tips, guidelines, possible outcomes of consulting, exemplary stories, and other useful information for nonprofit organizations of any size?considering the use of development/fundraising consultants.

Author Eugene Scanlan—a leading fundraising consultant—offers step-by-step guidance and resources to help you in your decision to use consultants, and then shows you how to go about getting the right one for the job. Its numerous case studies and practical tools—including sample invitation letters to consultants, sample requests for proposal, sample consulting budgets, samples of reports, and recommendations—equip you to implement the concepts introduced in the book.
This book can be a valuable resource for a development office looking to hire a consultant or for the independent contractor/grant writer who is selling their services.

~Cheers!

Grant Savvy Books: Fund Raising Realities Every Board Member Must Face

Fund Raising Realities Every Board Member Must Face
By David Landsdowne

While this book focuses on how to engage your board and fundraising committee, David Landsdowne provides lessons in fundraising that everyone can understand. Whether you are a grant writer on contract or part of a development team, "fundraising realities" still apply.

Near the end of the book, Mr. Landsdowne notes, "People won't support you simply because you want them to. But they will give when they see a personal benefit or when you translate your campaign into compelling human terms". Sound familiar?

This book is a quick read and really can be completed in one hour.

~Cheers!

Grant Savvy Books: How to Write a Grant Proposal

How to Write a Grant Proposal
By Cheryl Carter New and James Aaron Quick

The most common question I imagine that most new grant writers have is "how do I write a proposal?". Well, this book is a great place to start! The authors discuss the importance of good research and problems that can arise during the writing process. The book also comes with a CD-ROM filled with templates and worksheets for the reader.

Cheryl Carter New and James Aaron Quick are the sole owners and directors of Polaris Corporation. Polaris teaches grantsmanship to nonprofit organizations (The United Way National Training Center, the Non-Profit Center, and the Kellogg Foundation), primary and secondary schools, and for-profit and nonprofit healthcare facilities using three primary mediums: workshops, consulting services, and resource publishing. They lead over 100 workshops that have taught more than 4,000 people per year how to develop and plan projects, research funders, and write grants.

Cheers!

Grant Savvy Books: The Foundation

The Foundation: A Great American Secret

By Joel L. Fleishman

Review from Publishers Weekly

"In his first book, law professor and philanthropist Fleishman has created a thoughtful, engrossing, comprehensive guide to the origins, initiatives, successes and failures among the largely unsung 68,000 private foundations in America, which together grant over 32.2 billion tax-exempt dollars per year.

Tracing the history of this distinctly American institution, Fleishman considers the philanthropy of such financial titans as Andrew Carnegie, George Soros, Warren Buffett, Michael Milken and Bill Gates. Fleishman's view of the foundation is distinctly favorable: foundations serve a vital social function by providing seed funding to innovative initiatives, having led to such benefits as the 911 emergency response system, the development of the Pap smear, the alleviation of poverty in Bangladesh and the establishment of Johns Hopkins and Carnegie Mellon Universities.

Fleishman does not hestitate, however, to criticize foundations for arrogance, poor planning, unresponsiveness, waste and irresponsibility, using 12 case studies-Rockefeller's Population Council and the Children's Television Workshop among them-to set the stage for "Some Not So Modest Proposals," most of which involve increasing transparency and accountability. Fleishman's efforts prove an illuminating guide to a little-examined aspect of the American tradition.

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition."

This book appear to give grant writers and those who work closely with foundations, an opportunity to gain knowledge about the inner-workings of this unique business model from an honest, witty and "tough love" perspective (as others have noted). I look forward to reading Fleishman's work and sharing thoughts with other Savvy readers.

~Cheers!

Grant Savvy Books: Seeing Through a Donor's Eyes

Seeing Through A Donor's Eyes:

How to Make a Persuasive Case for Everything from

Your Annual Drive to Your Planned Giving Program

By Tom Ahern

This week's Savvy Book is recommended by The Chronicle of Philanthropy. The book focuses on the importance of writing a strong, persuasive case statement--something that seamlessly transfers into proposal writing.

Tom Ahern will tell you what materials you need, who to talk to and how to write in all down. This is definitely one of the next books to sit on my nightstand!

If any Savvy readers have read this book, please share your thoughts!

Also, if you think you've seen the name Ahern before, you have in a previous posting for Grant Savvy Books.

~Cheers

Grant Savvy Books: Giving-How Each of Us Can Change the World

Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World

by Bill Clinton

All political commentary aside, this is a good book to add to your mental library and even your bookshelves. It's a personal account of the global issues related to giving, philanthropy and the evolution of nonprofit organizations.

It includes inspiring stories and background about some of the largest foundations in the world. "Giving" is an easy read and complements any type of technical book you may have read on the subject. Don't let your politics keep you away. I've been in awe, welled up with tears and let out a giggle or two when reading this book.

While it is written from the author's perspective and published before our current economic doom and gloom, it's a brilliant time table for the birth of contemporary philanthropy. It's honest and wise. I recommend it wholeheartedly to my Savvy readers.

~Cheers

Grant Savvy Books: The Foundation Center's Guide to Proposal Writing

The Foundation Center's Guide to Proposal Writing, 5th Edition

This guide includes more than forty examples of successful proposals and/or portions of winning proposals to a variety of funders. It is a strong example of what really works, not just the ideas behind grant writing.

According the the Foundation Center's website: Author Jane C. Geever is founder and chairman of the development consulting firm, J.C. Geever, Inc., established in 1975 as the first woman-led fund raising company admitted into membership in the American Association of Fund Raising Counsel (AAFRC). Ms. Geever is a nationally recognized author and lecturer who has created successful proposals to foundations for more than 35 years.

This reading is also recommended in the GPCI Literature Review.

Enjoy!

~Cheers!

Grant Savvy Books

The Only Grant-Writing Book You'll Ever Need
by Ellen Karsh and Arlen Sue Fox

I recently started reading "The Only Grant-Writing Book You'll Ever Need" and I have found it to be a great resource. Many of the themes are familiar to an experienced grant writer, but I appreciate the bits of humor, honesty and candid feedback from grant experts in the field.

It is well-written and easy to read for a someone who is new to grant writing and provides questions for review at the end of each major section. For me, this format served as a nice way to be reminded of important points that can often be overlooked. It will be a useful book to have in my library.

Since this Monday was a holiday, the 'Grant Savvy Book of the Week' is making its appearance on Wednesday. However, remember to check back every Monday for another book related to philanthropy, grant writing and/or fundraising.

~Cheers!

More Grant Writing Books

After posting the recent section on grant writing books, I reviewed some old notes and discovered a few additional suggestions that are worth sharing with the Savvy crowd.

Storytelling for Grantseekers: The Guide to Creative Nonprofit Fundraising by Cheryl Clarke.

Winning Grants Step by Step 3rd Edition by Mim Carlson

Demystifying Grant Seeking by Larissa Golden Brown

These books are recommended readings by The Fund Raising School.

The Grant Savvy world was created to share knowledge, resources and inspiration. Starting today, a new “grant writing book” will be recommended every Monday for Savvy readers.

Enjoy!

~Cheers!

Grant Writing Books

Professional development and continuing education are keys to being a strong and sustainable grant writer. Below are a few of my favorite books that I return to often to jumpstart my brain and energy. The content is mostly basic, informative and adaptable.

Webster's New World Grant Writing Handbook by Sara Deming Wason

Achieving Excellence in Fund Raising by Hank A. Rosso & Associates and Eugene Tempel, Editor

Perfect Phrases for Writing Grant Proposals by Dr. Beverly Browning

How to Write Fundraising Materials That Raise More Money by Tom Ahern

~Cheers!